Hold Me Close and Don't Let Go
by BeautifulRain2020
Summary: A bullet rips through Peter's chest and his life is left hanging in the balance. With a worried Tony Stark, Aunt May and the whole host of Avengers: Peter doesn't face this immense recovery alone.
1. Day 1: Friday

"Now, you go on in there and show my daughter a good time. Just not too good," Toomes said with a smile and Peter stepped out of the car. All the sounds around Peter were muted and far away. Peter's mind raced as he thought about Toomes's eyes, the Vulture's mask, that alien weaponry, Liz and Toomes's threat. Peter watched as the car pulled away and he stood in shock for a few moments. He numbly walked up the stairs and looked into the school hall, where he saw Ned and MJ waving and swearing at him. Then faintly heard something pierce the air and he felt his spidey senses go off before a bullet tore through his body, forcing the air to be forced out of his lungs. Peter gasped but no air entered his body. He felt his heart beat sluggishly as blood began pouring into his internal cavities and between his organs. He felt blood trickling down his back and soaking into the suit that May had made sure looked perfect on him. A tear fell from Peter's eye. This was it. Peter was faintly aware of falling back and rolling down the stairs but it was filled with numbness and soon his vision went black.

"Show me the map again Friday," Tony said and a holographic map came up. "Now this interesting," Tony said as he began to study the map. A few moments later, Friday's voice come on.  
"Sir, I've received CCTV footage from outside Midtown high."  
"Mmm," Tony replied as he was deep in thought. "Anything of interest Friday?"  
"Mr Parker appears to have been shot," Friday stated and Tony suddenly became alert, looking up from the map. "Mr Parker appears to be unconscious at the base of the west entrance of the school hall. Footage shows no assailants or other parties involved. Peter was shot once in the back and he is non-responsive,"  
"Thanks Friday," Tony said as he got into his suit and took off. "Tell Bruce to get the medbay up and running."  
"Yes sir."

Ned and MJ watched as Peter gasped behind the double doors. The colour drained from his face and he fell back, as though he had fainted. They looked at each other and shrugged before they walked outside.  
"What the hell?" MJ called as they saw Peter lying at the bottom of the stairs.  
"Peter? Are you ok dude?" Ned called out. Others waiting outside turned to see what was going on.  
"Has he fainted?"  
"What a weirdo," Students muttered around them. A few seconds went by and Peter remained motionless. MJ frowned and began walking down the stairs. Ned followed her.  
"You can't just faint Peter, it's not masculine," MJ said, sure that Peter was faking.  
"Come on Peter, this is not cool," Ned told him.  
"Get up Peter," MJ said, lightly kicking him. Peter's body rocked gently and he gasped.  
"You better not be faking Peter, I can't stand more public humiliation," Ned said as he crouched beside Peter.  
"He's got his eyes are closed," MJ said as she looked into Peter's face.  
"Come on dude," Ned said as he shook Peter.  
"Hold on Ned. Is that blood?" MJ asked as she crouched beside Ned. "Roll him away from us," MJ said and Ned gently rolled Peter away from him.  
"That's blood," Ned gasped as he saw the blood was pooling on the concrete below Peter and MJ followed it back to the bullet wound on Peter's back.  
"Get an ambulance Ned," MJ said before they heard the sound of thrusters and everyone turned to see Iron Man landing on the road. All the students cried out, cheered and screamed before the ran towards Iron Man.  
"Stay back!" Tony told them and the students stopped dead in their tracks. Tony then turned to MJ, Ned and Peter while people took out their phones. Tony reacted the mask as he knelt beside Peter and looked into his face.  
"Pete, it's me. Can you hear me?" Tony asked and Ned and MJ watched him in shock. A few seconds went by as students began filming. "How's he doing Friday?"  
"His heart rate's at 210, blood pressure falling dramatically. He's gone into shock and my scans are showing severe internal injuries to both of his lungs and heart. There is mass haemorrhaging, surgery is advised as soon as possible," Friday reported.  
"Did… Did your suit just say that Peter's needs surgery?" MJ asked in shock.  
"Yes. I'm going to take him from here," Tony said as he gathered Peter into his arms and stood up, making sure that the mask retracted over his face. MJ and Ned stood up as well, and Ned couldn't take his eyes off Peter.  
"Is he going to be ok?" Ned asked.  
"I'm going to make sure that he gets all the care he needs. Lets go Friday," Tony said before he took off. "Stay with me kid," Tony whispered to Peter as he flew towards the Avengers compound.

"Tony? What's going on?" Steve asked Tony as he landed at the compound with Peter in his arms.  
"The kid's been shot, he needs immediate surgery," Tony replied as he began to walk inside.  
"How bad are his injuries?"  
"The bullet has damaged both of his lungs and his heart," Tony told Steve as he placed Peter onto a gurney. Bruce and Dr Cho quickly assessed Peter as Tony and Steve watched.  
"Ok, his air intake is poor, he's pale and he's sweaty," Bruce said as Dr Cho placed a semi-circle scanner onto the bed and let it scan Peter. A projection of Peter's body came up and everyone gasped. The bullet had torn through Peter's right latissimus dorsi muscle before it had ripped through his left lung and his hearts' left ventricle before wedging itself into his right lung.  
"Crap. The blood from his heart is pouring straight into his body. We need to get him into surgery now," Bruce said and immediately Dr Cho moved equipment out of the way and began wheeling Peter towards the operating room. Steve and Tony watched them go and the moment the doors closed, Tony panicked.  
"I need to…" Tony said as he began walking towards the door.  
"Tony," Steve said as he stopped Tony by placing a hand onto his chest. "We have to let them work. He's in safe hands."  
"I know," Tony replied as his voice shook. "He's bleeding out, he's…"  
"There's nothing we can do right now for Peter, so let's get you something to drink ok?" Steve said and Tony nodded.  
"Ok," Tony replied and Steve lead him into the lounge where the other Avengers were chatting. Their conversations died down and they turned to Steve and Tony as Steve poured Tony some whiskey.  
"We heard that Bruce started up the medbay, is everything ok?" Natasha asked.  
"Is it Pepper?" Rhodes asked.  
"Pepper's in a meeting," Tony replied.  
"It's the kid," Steve told them as he handed Tony the whiskey. "He's been shot and he's in surgery."  
"Is it bad?"  
"It's pretty bad."  
"It'll be the blood loss. If he dies, it'll be because of the blood loss," Tony said.  
"He's a strong kid Tony."  
"He's not strong enough to survive a bullet ripping through his chest."  
"There's nothing we can do now Tony," Natasha said. "Bruce and Dr Cho will do the best that they can for him."  
"I bet that they're ripping his chest open right now," Thor said and everyone stared at him. Tony put his head into his hands and Thor frowned. "Not a good time?"  
"No," Rhodes said.  
"Oh. My mistake. I'm sure that he's completely healthy and not about to die."  
"Just stop talking Thor," Rhodes said.  
"Ok, I will stop talking."  
"He always makes me smile," Hawkeye said and everyone looked at him. "Remember at Halloween when he tricked us into thinking that his finger had been cut off."  
"That was just traumatising."  
"He was really cute after we had that big bust up between us though," Natasha began.  
"Oh, he was adorable," Rhodes said. "He was all hyper, jumping around and talking so fast that none had a clue what he was one about."  
"And then there was that time that he got his hand stuck in the blender," Thor added.  
"Ah, no, why did have to bring that up?"  
"Because the blood was shooting everywhere and he was screaming, it was really quite something."  
"Can someone gag him please?" Rhodes said as Steve lent down to Tony.  
"Why don't you join in Tony? It might make you feel better."  
"Peter's in surgery, I don't want to joke about how serious this is."  
"There's nothing we can do, besides everyone has some very funny stories about Peter," Steve told Tony and he reluctantly agreed. 7 hours later, all the Avengers were drunk and laughing as Bruce appeared. The laughter died down.  
"How's Peter?"  
"He's alive Tony, and he's stable."  
"And his injuries?"  
"It wasn't good Tony, but myself and Dr Cho have made sure that he's able to heal on his own."  
"Where is he?"  
"He's in recovery. Dr Cho is with him,"  
"Ok. Ok," Tony breathed before he put his head in-between his legs and he tried to take some deep breaths in. Rhodes came over and placed his hand on Tony's back while Natasha looked up at Bruce. Bruce looked exhausted and his eyes glazed over as he began to fall.  
"Bruce!" Natasha cried out as she darted over to him. She caught him and Bruce blinked.  
"What time is it?"  
"It's 2am."  
"Oh man," Bruce replied as Natasha helped him to sit down.  
"You should go to bed Tony."  
"No, Peter's still in recovery," Tony said. "I need to…"  
"Dr Cho is looking after Peter, get some sleep Tony."  
"I think we should all get some sleep."  
"No, because who's looking after Peter?" Tony insisted.  
"I'll look after Peter," Natasha said and Tony relaxed.  
"Come on," Rhodes said and Tony allowed him to lead him away.  
"How bad was it really Bruce?" Natasha asked once Tony had left the room.  
"We had to open his whole chest up," Bruce said, rubbing his eyes. "The kid had massive internal bleeding from both of his lungs and part of heart had been ripped to shreds. We managed to stitch him up and start a blood transfusion. He lost about 2 pints of blood to internal bleeding and he's on a ventilator."  
"Did you have to break into his chest?" Thor asked.  
"We had to break 8 of the kids ribs. It wasn't pretty."  
"And he's still alive, after all of that?"  
"He's a strong kid," Bruce said before he yawned. "I'm so tired."  
"Go to sleep Bruce," Natasha said as Bruce rested his head against her.  
"Peter's going to be out for a while," Bruce told them as he closed his eyes.  
"Does he have any family that we need to call?" Steve asked before a phone went off in Bruce's jacket pocket and Natasha picked it up.  
"It appears so. A. Parker, or Aunt May is calling," Natasha said as she answered the call.  
"Peter. I thought I told you to call me if you were going to stay at Liz's house tonight. I've been worried for hours. Well? What do you have to say for yourself?" May said angrily down the phone and Natasha paused before she answered. "Peter?"  
"I'm not Peter. My name's Natasha Romanoff and I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this. But Peter's been seriously injured."  
"What do you mean? What's happened?" May asked, her tone becoming scared.  
"He's been shot."  
"Shot? What? I thought he was at his Homecoming dance."  
"All we know is that he's been shot but he's just got out of surgery. He's in recovery at the moment at the Avengers tower."  
"The Avengers tower? Why isn't he at a hospital? Wait, Natasha Romanoff, you're Black Widow."  
"I am Black Widow, yes."  
"Who do you mean when you say we?"  
"The Avengers. We've met Peter whilst he's been here on his internship."  
"But, why isn't he at a hospital? Why's he with you?"  
"Tony Stark was alerted of the incident and brought Peter here before anyone else had the chance to react."  
"Is he ok? Can I come and see him?" May stuttered.  
"Of course you you can. If you get a taxis to the compound and tell security that your Peter's Aunt when you arrive, I'll meet you at the bottom of the tower."  
"Ok. I'm on my way," May said before she hung up. Natasha looked up and all the eyes in the room were on her. "Go to bed everyone. I'll deal with Peter's aunt when she arrives," Natasha told everyone and they slowly filtered out. Natasha moved Bruce so that he was resting in a comfortable position on the couch and she covered him with a blanket.

The door to the recovery opened and Dr Cho saw Peter's Aunt May in the gentle grip of Natasha.  
"This is Peter's Aunt, May Parker. She's knows that Peter's been shot," Natasha told Dr Cho gently.  
"Where is he?" May asked, sick with worry.  
"He's just here Mrs Parker, if I can call you that?" Dr Cho asked and May nodded. She just needed to be with Peter.  
"Please let me see him."  
"He's still sedated and we've put a tube down his throat to help him breathe so seeing him might be a bit of a shock," Dr Cho said and tears began to fall from May's eyes.  
"Please, just let me see Peter," May begged. Dr Cho nodded at Natasha and Natasha smiled as she let go of May. Dr Cho opened the door and May walked carefully into the room. She gasped as she saw Peter and came over to his bedside. Peter was unconscious, pale and had lines going into all parts of his body. His chest was covered with thick, white bandages but most striking of all was the ventilation tube sitting firmly in his throat. More tears fell from May's eyes as she raised her hand and moved it through Peter's hair. "Hi Peter. It's ok, I'm here," May said and she smiled for a moment before Peter's unconscious face brought her back to the reality of the situation. She looked looked down at Peter's chest and saw that her tears had been making his bandages wet. "Oh, I'm making your bandages all wet," May said as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "I promised never to cry in-front of you Peter after Ben died but," May looked at Peter and stopped talking. She brushed a hand gently against his face, careful not to move the tube. "Stay with me Peter. You have to stay with me ok. The doctor's are taking care of you and I'll help too. Just don't leave ok?" May begged Peter. She stared into his face for a few moments before she kissed his forehead.  
"He's very strong," Dr Cho reassured May as she came beside her.  
"Yeah, he is," May said, glancing at Dr Cho before she turned back to Peter. "He's always been strong. Even as a boy when I had to tell him that his parents had died. And then his uncle. Both times he was strong. And now it's just me and him. My Peter."  
"He's fighting his injuries, so I think it's clear that he's wants to stay here, with you."  
"Does he need the tube down his throat?" May asked, even though she knew the answer.  
"Unfortunately he does. His body is strong but it needs time to heal. The tube is currently providing air for Peter's lungs and without it he can't breathe."  
"So it's breathing for him?"  
"Yes. When his lungs fully heal we should be able to take him off it. We anticipate that this will be in about a week's time," Dr Cho said. Natasha had prewarned her and Bruce not to go into too much detail with May about Peter's injuries as she didn't know that he was Spiderman.  
"Do you know whop shot him?"  
"We're currently trying to find the identity of his shooter."  
"Was anyone else injured?"  
"No."  
"Can I stay with him?"  
"Of course. Natasha's been setting up a bed up for you in the spare room and you are welcome to stay for as long as Peter is here."  
"Thank you."  
"There is a chance that Peter will drift into consciousness every so often, so if we keep talking to him it will help to reassure him," Dr Cho said and May nodded.


	2. Day 2: Saturday

The door opened and Tony came into the medbay. The sight of Peter made his heart jump into his throat. Peter's whole chest was covered with bandages, there were countless lines going into his body and wires attached to him. The ventilator was pushing air into his lungs and the monitor told Tony that Peter's heart rate and blood pressure were both dangerously low. Peter was alive and stable, but not by much.  
"Hey kid. I won't stay long. Dr Cho and Bruce are taking very good care of you and I have a project to be getting on with," Tony said softly and he waited for Peter to respond. Instead, the sound of the ventilator keeping Peter alive greeted Tony. Tony closed his eyes and lowered his head. He had introduced Peter to what an Avenger did and now, as part of taking down down someone who was way too dangerous for a 15 year old to handle, he had got himself shot. And Tony blamed himself. He opened his eyes and stepped towards Peter, the ventilator a horrific reminder of how serious Peter's injuries were. Peter was unnaturally still and it scared Tony. "Stay with me kid," Tony said as he looked into Peter's face. After a few moments, Tony couldn't stand to look at Peter's pale and unconscious face any-more so he took a deep breath in, smiled at Bruce and left.

Peter's Phone buzzed.

Text Message, Ned, 11:00 – Are you awake Peter? You were bleeding at Homecoming and Iron Man said that he was going to look after you.

Text Message, Ned, 13:00 – Can you text me back Peter, just to let me know that you're alive.

Voice-mail, MJ, 14:00 – "Hey Peter, it's MJ. You passed out yesterday at Homecoming and you were bleeding. Iron Man said that you needed surgery and I think that he was genuinely worried about you. I'm worried about you too. Are you ok?" There was a pause. "Anyway, I've got homework to do so I'll call you later."

Text Message, Ned, 15:00 – Please reply dude. This is not cool.

Voice-mail, MJ, 16:00 – "Hey. It's MJ, again. Have you had surgery or not? Ned's texting me now so I take it you're not responding to him either. Ok. Bye."

Dr Cho disappeared into the medbay as Bruce came out and Rhodes approached him.  
"How's the kid?"  
"He's not healing," Bruce replied and Rhodes sighed.  
"What should I tell the others?"  
"Don't tell them anything. Dr Cho is on the night shift and Peter should start healing soon."  
"Ok. What about his Aunt?"  
"She's sleeping in the spare room. She was awake with Peter all last night. Dr Cho said that she can stay until Peter's better."  
"That's a good plan. Do you think that he will get better?"  
"I'm hopeful. Peter's very strong for surviving this much, it's just whether his body is able to start healing itself."

"Tony," Rhodes said as he came into the lab and Tony turned to him.  
"Hey Rhodes."  
"There's no change," Rhodes said and Tony kept working. "Tony?"  
"I'm missing something Rhodes. All my calculations are correct but the thrusters aren't firing when..."  
"Tony," Rhodes said forcefully and Tony stopped.  
"He's in safe hands Rhodes. I need to focus on my work."  
"You're in shock Tony."  
"Tell me something I don't know. Close the door on your way out," Tony said as he focused on his work. Rhodes looked at Tony for a few more seconds before he left. Tony listened to the door as it closed and he let out a shaky breath. Peter wasn't healing. "Friday, bring up my last prototype," Tony said as he tried to brush the truth of the situation away. He had to focus on something else.


	3. Day 3: Sunday

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son! The jaws that bite, the claws that catch! Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun The frumious Bandersnatch!" May read to Peter. She took her glasses off and placed them onto the table. Peter had loved Alice in Wonderland as a child, the gibberish and wild imaginary scenes brought him peace in his turbulent life. May stroked Peter's hair, that was becoming greasier by the day. "My mad hatter," May whispered.  
"Does Peter like Alice in Wonderland?" Dr Cho asked May as she came over.  
"He loves it. The gibberish in the book always helped him to escape real life," May told her as Peter began to gurgle quietly.  
"It was my favourite book as a child too," Dr Cho said. Peter gurgled louder and they began to notice.  
"Peter?" May asked. "Are you awake? What's happening to him?" May asked as Dr Cho shone a light into Peter's mouth.  
"He's bringing up fluid up from his lungs," Dr Cho said as she positioned herself by Peter's head. She placed her hands on either side of Peter's head as he began to choke. "We need to move him onto his side. Help me to roll him over on 3," Dr Cho said and May quickly positioned herself so that her hands were on Peter's shoulder and hip. "Ok. 1, 2, 3," Dr Cho said and they rolled Peter onto his side. Blood ran out of Peter's mouth and onto the floor. May turned away. Peter gagged and gasped as the blood landed onto the floor. "Ok. Let's move him back," Dr Cho said and May helped her to roll Peter back. Dr Cho then listened to Peter's lungs as tears formed in May's eyes as she watched the harsh reality of Peter's injuries. "He's doing well," Dr Cho told May before she looked up at her. "Why don't you take a rest and get a drink. I need to do an x-ray on Peter's chest anyway."  
"Yeah," May whispered before she left. She bumped into Natasha on the way out and Natasha gently touched her arm.  
"Hey, are you ok?"  
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Peter's erm. He's throwing up blood."  
"He had had major surgery."  
"I'm erm. I'm suppose to be looking after him," May said as tears began to fall down her face.  
"You are looking after him," Natasha reassured her. "You're here, with him and you're supporting him. You couldn't have stopped him getting injured," Natasha said and May stood in silence, tears slowly rolling down her face. "Come here," Natasha said and embraced May. They remained like that for a few minutes. As they were hugging, Steve came round the corner and saw Natasha holding May close to her. Natasha nodded at the door into the medbay and Steve nodded back in response. He went in to see what was going on. "Better?" Natasha asked and May nodded, pulling out of the hug.  
"Thank you."  
"People are in the dining room making lunch and you'd be welcome to join them."  
"I will."  
"I'll stay with Peter."  
"Thank you," May said before she walked into the kitchen and Natasha went into the medbay.  
"What's going on Steve?" She asked, walking towards Peter's bed where Dr Cho was busy looking at the monitors and doing medical checks on Peter.  
"Peter's been throwing up blood from his lungs and the x-ray shows that his lung tissue has increased in quantity."  
"What does that mean?"  
"It means that the holes in his lungs are beginning to close up."  
"So he's healing?"  
"Yes," Dr Cho replied as she brought over the ultrasound machine.  
"Tony's in shock. He's been focusing on his work and he hasn't come to see Peter at all today," Natasha reported to Steve as Dr Cho scanned Peter's heart. Peter's muffled heartbeat filled the room as Steve watch Peter carefully.  
"I can understand that. Tony loves this kid and seeing him like this breaks his heart."  
"It breaks all of our hearts," Natasha said as she rested a hand onto Steve's shoulder.  
"The alveoli in his lungs are regrowing."  
"Is that good?"  
"It's very good. It means that Peter's body is getting enough oxygen and blood to begin repairing itself."  
"I'll let his Aunt and the rest of the team know. Steve can you stay with him?"  
"Yeah, no problem," Steve replied as Natasha left and went into the kitchen. The conversation died down as she came into the room. May was eating a sandwich and Rhodes was standing beside her. Bruce was also awake and he was eating lunch alongside Thor and Hawkeye.  
"How's Peter?" Hawkeye asked.  
"He's healing," Natasha announced.  
"Yeah!" Thor cheered. "I know that he would. Never doubted it for a second."  
"How is he healing?" Bruce asked her.  
"Dr Cho has done some scans and according to those, the holes in his lungs are beginning to close up. The alveoli in his lungs are beginning to heal and that's why he was throwing up blood."  
"I'll let Tony know," Rhodes said.  
"No. I'll tell Tony. He's a bit fragile right now," Bruce offered.  
"I'll go back and," May began.  
"No. Steve's in with Peter. He's safe and Dr Cho is still running some tests on him," Natasha told her.  
"Ok," May said, nodding. "Can I talk to Tony Stark?"  
"Yeah. I think you know more than us about what he's feeling," Bruce said and May went off to Tony's lab.

"Rhodes I'm working on this new suit please don't," Tony began before he turned round and saw May Parker standing in the doorway. "Sorry, I thought you were someone else," Tony apologised before going back to his work.  
"I heard that you're struggling," May said. She wasn't fond of Tony Stark but Peter looked up to him and May loved Peter, therefore she owed him some sympathy.  
"No, I'm great," Tony said. "I'm working on my next suit, I just need to get the…"  
"He's healing," May interrupted Tony and Tony went silent for a few moments.  
"How is he healing?"  
"His lungs are beginning to heal and his alveoli are regrowing, whatever they are."  
"Good," Tony said. That meant that Peter's heart was working well enough for this body to begin healing. Whether it was good enough for his full healing abilities to kick in, only time would tell. If they didn't, Tony would be down here for the next few months, unable to look upon Peter in such a vulnerable state.  
"How long have you been down here?"  
"24 hours. I can go for much long than this."  
"Have you slept?"  
"No, These thrusters require a lot of work," Tony said as he continued working. He hadn't yet looked at May.  
"Why didn't you take him to a hospital?" May asked and Tony stopped.  
"Dr Cho and Bruce Banner are fantastic doctors and I trust them with my life. I didn't want Peter to be overlooked at a major hospital when I knew that he could get the good quality treatment here," Tony said and May nodded.  
"You just wanted to do the best for him."  
"Yeah. I'll be sure to come up and visit Peter soon."  
"We'll both be there. When Peter wakes up," May said before she left the lab.


	4. Day 4: Monday

"Where's Parker?" Flash asked as he came into the classroom.  
"Nones seen him since Homecoming," Betty told him.  
"Yeah, he ditched me," Liz reminded her friends.  
"Actually Iron Man came and took him away somewhere," MJ said.  
"Yeah, after he fainted," Flash sneered.  
"He probably kidnapped him," Brad said.  
"Ok, good morning class," Mr Harrington said.  
"Do you know where Peter is?" Flash asked Mr Harrington.  
"Peter? Is he not here?" Mr Harrington asked, scanning the classroom.  
"He passed out at Homecoming and none has seen or heard from him since," Betty told him.  
"Actually he was kidnapped by Tony Stark," Brad added.  
"Iron Man wouldn't do that," Ned defended.  
"Then where is he?"  
"He's probably just ill, I'll get the receptionist to call his Aunt and find out what's going on," Mr Harrington said. "For now, we'll start at page 6 of your books."

"Hello?" May said as she answered her phone. Peter was gasping softly beside her as his lungs fought the ventilator.  
"Is this May Parker?"  
"It is."  
"My name's Lucy and I'm the receptionist from Midtown high school. It's come to our attention that there was an incident involving Peter Parker on Friday at the Homecoming dance and he has been absent for this morning's tutorial and first class. Are you aware of his current location?"  
"I'm currently with Peter in hospital. He's under medical sedation due to a major illness so I hope you can understand his absence."  
"Ok, I'm sorry to hear that. Can I ask how long he's going to be absent for?"  
"The doctor's are unsure how long it's going to take for Peter to recover."  
"Ok, that's alright. If you can that you keep us updated with his condition, and when he returns to school we will need a note of medical absence from his doctor."  
"Yes, of course."  
"Ok, thank you so much Mrs Parker. We wish Peter a speedy recovery."  
"Ok, thank you," May said before he hung up the phone.

The receptionist came into the classroom and MJ watched as she talk to Mr Harrington in a hushed voice.  
"Really? When did he get this? When will he be back?" Mr Harrington asked as the receptionist explained the situation. "Ok," Mr Harrington said at last. "Thank you, I'll tell the students."  
"What's going on?" MJ asked him.  
"Peter's in hospital."  
"What?"  
"What happened to him?"  
"Is he ok?"  
"Ok, calm down. His Aunt is with him but he's currently under medical sedation because of a major illness."  
"So, he's not conscious?"  
"No."  
"That would explain why he fainted at Homecoming," Betty said.  
"But it doesn't explain why Iron Man took him away," Flash said.  
"How bad is it?"  
"I don't know."  
"When is he going to be back?" Liz asked.  
"They don't know."  
"It must be serious," Flash said and the class looked at him. "What? Dickwad is unconscious and in hospital. I need someone to take the piss out of in school."  
"Your sick," MJ told him.  
"I think you'll find that Peter's sick," Brad joked.  
"That is not cool," Ned replied.  
"I hope that he'll be ok," Betty said.  
"I hope so too," Mr Harrington replied.

Peter's phone buzzed and May picked it up. It was a voice-mail from Ned. "What's going on Peter?! Mr Harrington told us that your Aunt called saying that you're in hospital and under medical sedation. What's going on? Why were you bleeding at Homecoming? Everyone is so worried about you! Even Flash! I know that sedation means that you're asleep, or something like that, but you're superhuman right and you should be healing fast. Look, when you wake up you have to call me! None is telling us what's going on! I'm getting seriously worried about you dude." The answer phone finished and May put the phone gently back on the side. Part of her was reassured to know that Peter had such good friends but the other part of her knew why they were so worried. Peter was sweaty and his skin was still pale from the blood loss. They were transfusing the 3rd pint of blood into Peter as his heart became stronger. Thankfully, Peter was now warm to touch and that made May smile as she brushed her hand against Peter's face. Bruce had said that it wouldn't be long until they could take Peter off the ventilator and he was even hoping that it would be tomorrow. May didn't know how Peter was healing this fast but she was glad that he was.  
"Are you ok?" Tony asked May as he came over with a bowl of warm water. May snapped out of her train of though and looked up at Tony Stark. He looked healthier than the last time she had seen him.  
"I'm getting lost in my own thoughts," May replied with a smile.  
"I know that feeling," Tony said. "Dr Cho and Bruce thought it would be a good idea if we gave Peter a wash. He's a bit sweaty from fighting his injures and they've given us some peace to do it in."  
"That's nice of them," May said as she stood up and Tony handed her a small, hand-sized towel.  
"The water temperature should be about right," Tony said. "Do you want to wash his face or shall I? We need to be careful with the ventilator."  
"I'll wash his face."  
"Ok," Tony agreed and they both soaked their towels before they drained most of the water so that they were damp. May sat on the bed and placed her free hand on the side of Peter's head before she carefully began washing Peter's face. Tony meanwhile gently lifted one of Peter's arms and began wiping the towel gently along it.

Peter drifted. It was hard to say where he was, he wasn't nowhere but he also wasn't somewhere, he just was. His mind floated like a jellyfish through the sea, with no purpose and no plan. Darkness was all about him but then he felt a soft touch on his physical body. Warm water dripped down into his consciousness and he felt as though he was falling slowly, twisting and turning as he fell. The water fell alongside him.  
"He's a strong kid," Said a voice that drifted towards Peter and he processed it slowly. It belonged to a man.  
"He is," Came another voice that soaked into Peter and fell into a place that made Peter feel safe. "He's strong, just like his father."  
"I lost my parents at a young age, just like Peter," This voice sounded familiar. More water fell around Peter as something brushed against his skin. "I think that's part of the reason he likes working with me."  
"All he ever seems to do is work on his internship with you," That voice belonged to this Aunt. Yes, his Aunt May. Peter felt himself being pulled towards his body. He wanted to reach out and touch her. He wanted her to be with him and to tell him what was happening.  
"That's because he enjoys it and I help him with his projects as much as I can," Peter knew that voice, but it was softer than he was use to.  
"I miss him," May said, running water through Peter's hair, it felt good and Peter was happy. "I usually have all the trouble trying to get him to stop talking. Now I just want to hear his voice." Peter wanted to call out to her, tell her that everything was ok and that he was here.  
"I hope he's well rested after this," Came the voice again and Peter finally recognised it. It was Tony Stark. Peter felt his hand being opened gently and a towel being brushed carefully over his palm. "He's usually climbing the walls when he's in my lab."  
"That's Peter. There's never a dull second with him around."  
"Tell me about it."  
"I hate this tube that they've put down his throat."  
What tube? Peter thought.  
"It's necessary for Peter to heal. I can't stand it. It reminds me just how far away Peter is."  
But I'm right here, Peter thought. He hated how he was so close to two people that he loved the most and yet he couldn't talk to them, he couldn't touch them and he couldn't even tell them how much he needed them right now.  
"Bruce says that they'll be able to take him off the ventilator very soon. He's hopeful that it could be tomorrow. Peter's pushing back against it."  
"At least that's something. He'll be back to looking like his normal self," Tony said as Peter felt his hand touch his own as he gently lay it back onto the bed. Then it was gone. The touch was the only way that Peter could communicate with them and he felt May's hands leave his face. He suddenly felt alone. He was loose, not attached to any physical body and the feeling of being untethered, drifting away into darkness, stoked the fear that was deep inside of him. He summoned all his strength and curled his fingers in. He then realised that his hand was being cradled by Tony while May was gently wiping a damp towel over his eyelids. "Careful there kid, I need to get to those," Tony said and Peter was gone.

Tony stopped and May turned to him.  
"Is he awake?" May asked in surprise and anticipation.  
"His fingers curled in on themselves," Tony said, realising that Peter might have been trying to communicate with him.  
"Peter, are you awake honey?" May asked, stroking his hair. "Peter, talk to us."  
"If you can hear us Pete, curl your fingers in again," Tony said, stretching Peter's fingers apart. They wait for a few seconds but nothing happened.  
"Peter?" May whispered.  
"If he was with us, it was only for a few moments," Tony said before he continued to wash warm water across Peter's skin. May sighed and carried on cleaning Peter's face.


	5. Day 5: Tuesday

"Scan complete," Friday announced and the scan of Peter's body came up one the screen and everyone turned to look at it.  
"His lungs have healed," Bruce said in surprise. "His left ventricle is still damaged but his lungs are fully repaired."  
"Can we take him off the ventilator?" Tony asked simply.  
"Yeah, it all looks good," Bruce said and Dr Cho began setting up.  
"Is it going to hurt him?" May asked as she moved so that she was standing beside Peter.  
"It might be uncomfortable for him and he'll have a sore throat afterwards but it shouldn't be painful."  
"Hold on. You're going to wake him up?" Tony asked.  
"We're going to give him something to bring him to a higher state of consciousness, which will make it easier for Peter to breathe on his own once we've taken the tube out. There is a chance that he could wake up as we take the tube out," Bruce answered as he got a syringe ready.  
"Oh Peter," May said as she stroked her hand through Peter's hair.  
"You've got this kid," Tony said as he put a hand onto Peter's leg as Bruce finished injecting Peter.  
"Are you ready Bruce?"  
"Yep. Ok, here we go," Bruce said as he held onto the tube that was poking out of Peter's mouth. He began to pull the tube out and Peter stirred.  
"Urgh," He groaned.  
"Shhh, you're ok, you're ok," May said as she acted instinctively. Peter gagged as the ventilator was eased out of his throat.  
"Easy does it, easy now. You're doing great Peter," Bruce said.  
"You're doing so well Peter, it's almost out," May said. Peter continued to gag and cough as the tube came out of his throat and Bruce handed it to Dr Cho.  
"There we go kid, there we go," Tony reassured Peter.  
"Deep breaths Peter. Take some deep breaths for me," Bruce said softly. Peter tried to breathe in but all he could do was cough. May's heart was tight in her chest as she watched Peter. She wanted to help him but knew that there was nothing that she could do. Peter managed to take some shallow breaths in.  
"That's it Peter, that's it," May said as Peter gasped and finally took a deep breath in.  
"Welcome back to the land of the living kid," Tony said and May gasped in relief as Peter breathed for himself after 5 days of stress and worry. Peter felt strange and his body was numb. His chest throbbed slightly with pain but all he could do was look up. He felt pure oxygen rush down his nasal cavity and into his lungs as Bruce placed an oxygen tube across his nose.  
"Hi," May said and Peter moved his eyes to look at her. "Hi Peter," May said again in joy.  
"May," Peter whispered. Man, he sounded awful. His voice was chesty and broken.  
"You can talk," May said, filled with excitement that Peter was awake. "You scared me so much darling."  
"…Sorry," Peter struggled to say after a moment and May kissed him.  
"You never need to say sorry to me," May said with her hand still resting in his hair.  
"Try not to talk Peter, your throat will be sore from the tube," Bruce told Peter and he moved his eyes to look at Bruce. "Your voice will come back, just take it easy ok?" Bruce said and Peter nodded.  
"Hey Pete," Tony said, shaking Peter's leg to indicate his position. "I'm glad that you're ok kid. We'll talk more when you feel better ok?" Peter opened his hand and Tony looked at it. Peter then curled his fingers in. "So you were awake kid," Tony said and Peter nodded.  
"I'm. He. Here," Peter struggled to say and May stroked his hair.  
"We never left," May said as a tear ran down Peter's face. May kissed his forehead again and Tony closed Peter's fist.  
"I'll see you soon kid," Tony said before he left the room.  
"Tired," Peter whispered. May sat on the bed and brought the blanket up so that it covered Peter's shoulders.  
"Go to sleep Peter and I'll be right here when you wake up," May told him.  
I love you, Peter mouthed before he closed his eyes and began to drift off to sleep.  
"I love you too."

Tony closed the door to the lab and faced the Avengers, who had heard what was going on and had huddled around the door, anxious for news about Peter.  
"Peter's awake. He's off the ventilator and he can breathe on his own," Tony told them.  
"That's fantastic Tony."  
"That's really good."  
"Yeah, that's great news Tony," Steve said as he put his hand onto Tony's shoulder.  
"Is he in any pain?"  
"We can't be having that," Thor said.  
"No, he's not in any pain."  
"Fantastic!"  
"Lets get you a drink Tony," Steve said and Tony smiled.  
"Yeah, nice plan Steve," Tony said and they all went through to the lounge.


	6. Day 6: Wednesday

When Peter drifted back into consciousness, it was quiet and he slowly opened his eyes. The room was dark and he heard someone breathing gently beside him. Peter tried to lift his hand up but it felt heavy and stiff. There were needles in his arm, and he felt fluids and oxygen flowing into his body. He felt broken.  
"Hey kid," Came a voice from beside him. Tony leaned over Peter as his tears formed in Peter's eyes. "It's ok Peter. You're safe," Tony whispered, brushing a hand through Peter's hair.  
"Mr Stark?" Peter struggled to say, his voice croaky. Tony was wearing a grey jumper and he looked relaxed.  
"Yeah, it's me. Hi."  
"Hi," Peter replied and smiled. "Where's May?"  
"She feel asleep alongside you Pete. After 9 hours, Bruce took her to bed."  
"Oh."  
"How are you feeling?"  
"Weak,"  
"You've had major surgery on your chest. You were shot at homecoming, if you remember that, and I brought you here. You've been recovering for a while now."  
"Bad?" Peter croaked.  
"Pretty bad kid," Tony said before he went over to a counter-top and got something. Peter watched as he came back with a cup with a straw in it. "Sip this, it'll make your throat feel better," Tony said before he gently placed the straw into Peter's mouth. Peter sipped the drink slowly and he let the warm honey drink trickle gently down his throat. Peter stopped and Tony removed the straw. "You gave us all a big scare kid."  
"Us?"  
"The Avengers, your Aunt, Pepper, Happy, Dr Cho and myself."  
"Avengers?"  
"Yeah. They've been very worried about you."  
"Like the Avengers, Aven…"  
"Yes kid, the Avengers," Tony reassured Peter with a smile.  
"What time is it?" Peter asked slowly. The honey drink had helped a lot.  
"I think you want to ask what day it is more than anything else," Tony said and Peter frowned. "Homecoming was 5 days ago."  
"5?"  
"You've been under sedation for a while Peter. It's currently Wednesday."  
"Am I healing?" Peter asked.  
"Your lungs have healed but your heart is still damaged."  
"The gun," Peter said as his voice became much deeper and urgent.  
"The gun?" Tony repeated as he focused on Peter's face. Peter tried to speak but no words came out. "Who had a gun kid?" Tony asked again.  
"Wing. Suit," Peter said, the words refusing to come out of his mouth. The event was still too raw for him.  
"The Vulture? Your memory must be wrong kid, people would have noticed if the vulture was at Homecoming. Just relax, I'll get you a sedative, it's past your bedtime," Tony said as he removed Peter's hand and began to get up, but Peter grabbed Tony's wrist with a strong grip. Tony paused and looked at Peter, "Steady there kid."  
"Tony," Peter continued. "The car. With Liz. He shot me," Peter gasped, his grip loosening on Tony's wrist with every word and Tony's eyes flicked to the monitor.  
"Your blood pressure is plummeting Peter and you're about to black out. I'm getting you the sedative," Tony said forcefully and he removed Peter's hand from his wrist. He injected the sedative carefully into Peter and within moments, Peter was asleep. Tony sighed and kissed Peter. He left the medbay and went upstairs, Bruce was due to come down and start observations soon anyway.

The next time Peter stirred, there was fluid on his chest and someone was applying gentle pressure onto it. He groaned before he opened his eyes and saw Bruce above him with an ultrasound machine. Bruce saw that Peter was awake and he smiled.  
"Hi Peter," Bruce said in a calm tone. "How are you feeling?"  
"Lucid," Peter replied, his voice was quiet and soft but talking was much easier than before and less painful. "What happened?"  
"You were shot almost a week ago. The bullet went through both of your lungs and it punched a hole in your heart."  
"My heart?"  
"Yeah," Bruce said as he put the equipment down and wiped the sticky fluid off Peter's chest. "You've lost almost 4 pints of blood and we've been giving you transfusions to replenish your supply," Bruce said before he fiddled with a wire. Peter turned his head and saw that there were about 4 different drugs being pumped into his body.  
"Why am I not in any pain?"  
"We've been giving you lots of high dosage painkillers intravenously," Bruce told him and Peter watched Bruce fiddle with more medical equipment before he turned back to Peter. "I would like to see if you can eat and drink anything Peter, is that ok?" Bruce asked and Peter nodded the best that he could. Bruce began to raise the bed and Peter jolted. "Are you ok Peter?"  
"I felt like I was falling."  
"You will be a bit dizzy as you've been lying down for 6 days," Bruce said as he raised the bed to 45 degrees. "There. How do you feel?" Bruce asked Peter again as he looked at the monitors showing Peter's vital signs.  
"Dizzy. Very dizzy," Peter said. His head was swimming and he didn't know which way was up. He took a deep breath in. "Ah!" Peter cried out and Bruce turned to him quickly.  
"What's wrong?" Bruce asked as he grabbed his stethoscope.  
"My chest," Peter groaned and Bruce listened to his lungs. "It hurts when I breathe, ah!" Peter cried out again as he raised a hand to his chest.  
"We had to break some of your ribs Peter," Bruce said as he put the stethoscope down.  
"How many?"  
"Four on each side."  
"Ah."  
"Just focus on taking steady, shallow breaths Peter. Your ribs are healing but they're still badly bruised. Focus on the oxygen," Bruce told Peter and he focused on breathing in the pure oxygen from the tube running to his nose. "Shall I get your Aunt?" Bruce asked and Peter nodded. "Ok. I'll come back with some food as well," Bruce told him before he left.

"Peter!" May cried out in excitement as she came over to Peter in her pyjama's.  
"Hi May," Peter said, smiling as May sat on the bed and she ran a hand through his hair.  
"Are you ok?"  
"I'm dizzy."  
"Do you know what happened?"  
"I was shot and it ripped my chest to shreds."  
"You were out for such a long time Peter. I was scared that you wouldn't wake up." May said and Peter reached down and took one of May's hands in his own.  
"I'll never leave you on your own," Peter said and May smiled as tears came to her eyes.  
"Thank you," May thanked Peter and Peter let a tear run down his own face. May smiled and wiped his tear away. "Spiderman doesn't cry," May said and Peter smiled.  
"I'm not Spiderman, I'm Peter," He told her.  
"You're my Peter," She said as she kissed him on the forehead.  
"Ah," Peter said softly as Bruce came into the room with a tray.  
"What's wrong honey?"  
"My chest hurts."  
"Bruce?"  
"It's his bruised ribs. There's not much that I can do, I'm afraid," Bruce told May as he put the tray of food down. "Here we go Peter, I want to see how much of this you can get down you," Bruce said as he gave Peter a yogurt.  
"Are you ok?" May asked and Peter nodded as he took a spoon from Bruce and began eating the yogurt. After 2 spoonfuls he put it down and May picked up the water as Peter rested back. "Here. Open your mouth a little Peter," May said and Peter did so. May gently tipped the water down Peter's dry throat and his body welcomed it. "Ok," May said as she put the water down and wiped Peter's lips.  
"Thank you," Peter said.  
"That was fantastic Peter," Bruce said as he wrote things down on a chart.  
"Are you ok?" May asked again as she stroked a hand against Peter's face.  
"Yeah. I love you."  
"I love you too Peter."  
"I'm going to leave you sitting up for a bit Peter if that's ok."  
"Ok."  
"I'll get dressed," May said and kissed Peter. "I'll be back soon."  
"Thanks May."  
"You've got a visitor Pete," Bruce said and Peter turned his head towards the door.  
"Hey kid," Tony said happily, coming into the room as May left.  
"Hey Mr Stark," Peter said as Tony came over to him.  
"Don't worry about getting up kid," Tony joked and Peter laughed.  
"I couldn't even if I wanted to Mr Stark."  
"I know kid," Tony said as he sat down on the bed. "How are you feeling?"  
"The oxygen's helping but my chest still hurts," Peter replied.  
"It will kid," Tony said before he sighed. "I'm sorry that I couldn't stop this from happening to you Pete."  
"It's not your fault."  
"I should have listened to you sooner and taken you seriously. The surgery was close Peter, 5 minutes later and you would have been."  
"But I'm not," Peter said, taking Tony's hand in his own. "You saved me."  
"I'll always save you kid."  
"Thanks Mr Stark," Peter said and they sat in silence for a few moments.  
"I need to ask you kid. The man who shot you in the car. Was he the vulture?" Tony asked and he watched as Peter paused for moment, getting himself ready to recount the moment before he almost died.  
"Yes," Peter said. "And he's my date's dad."  
"Oh that is bad luck."  
"I wanted to stop him Mr Stark."  
"I know kid. If he shot you then he knows your identity?" Tony asked as the horrible thought came to him. Peter rested back on the bed and closed his eyes. "Kid?" Tony asked, becoming concerned that something was wrong.  
"He threatened me in the car," Peter said, his words crumbling as they came out of his mouth. "He was going to kill me and everyone I love," Peter said, the tears threatening to fall. May had just come back into the room as she saw Peter.  
"Shhh Peter, it's ok," Tony said in an unnaturally soft and gentle voice.  
"Peter?" May asked and Tony turned to her. "What is it? What's wrong?"  
"Peter was threatened."  
"What?!" May said as she sat beside Peter. "Who threatened you?"  
"Liz's dad."  
"What?" May asked as she turned to Tony for answers and Peter began to cry.  
"We believe that he's the man who shot Peter."  
"What? I can't, Peter?" May said in disbelief before her voice became filled with worry. Peter was breathing but his breaths were strained and painful. "Peter? Shit, get Bruce," May said but Tony went to Peter's other side.  
"He's ok, it's just a panic attack. I've had a few of these myself," Tony said as he placed his hand gently onto Peter's right shoulder. "Try and breathe Peter, ok? Just look at me. Follow my breathing," Tony said and he exaggerated his breathing so that Peter could follow it. "That's it," Tony said and Peter began to calm down. "In and out, just like this. That's it kid," Tony said as Peter relaxed and closed his eyes. "That's great. You're safe. None's going to hurt you," Tony said before he heard a loud thud. He turned and saw May kneeling on the floor. "May? Are we ok?" Tony asked as he left Peter and squatted beside May.  
"That breathing, really does that trick," May told Tony.  
"Yeah, it really helps people to relax. Are you ok? Anything broken?" Tony asked and May shook her head.  
"No."  
"Ok. Let's get you onto the bed with Peter," Tony said and May didn't argue. She let Tony pull her up and lead her over to the bed. "Ok, lie back," Tony said and May rested back beside Peter as Tony swung her legs up. He pulled the side of the bed up to stop May falling out of it. Peter opened his eyes and looked over at his Aunt. "How are you doing kid?" Tony asked him.  
"Better. Thanks Tony," Peter replied.  
"Great. I wish I had some of that pure oxygen when I get panic attacks," Tony said and Peter smiled. "Now, you look after her Pete ok?" Tony said and Peter nodded.  
"Ok."  
"If you keep improving at this rate, I'll talk to Bruce and see if we can get you up and moving tomorrow."  
"Oh, ok," Peter said and Tony smiled.  
"I love you kid."  
"I know," Peter replied and Tony left.  
"I have to do more meditation," May murmured as she lay her head onto Peter. Peter smiled and kissed his Aunt.  
"We'll do it together," Peter said and May snuggled into him. "Ouf, be careful May."  
"I'm sorry Peter," May said softly, just glad to be close to Peter.  
"It's ok," Peter said as he wrapped an arm around May. He then reached over and picked up his phone. He had 4 recent, unread text messages and 3 voice-mails. He listened to the voice-mails of Ned and MJ, and they became more panicked as they went on with the final one revealing that Peter's whole class knew that he had been sedated. Man, even Flash was worried about him. The texts were slightly less panicked than the voice-mails and Peter read the latest one.

Text Message, MJ, 12:00 – Ned is panicking about you. Please text us when you're awake Peter.

To Ned: I'm awake Ned. I was severely injured but Bruce says that I'm healing well for the damage that's been done. I won't be back at school for a while.

To MJ: Hey MJ. I'm awake so you can stop worrying about me now.

Text Message, Ned, 14:00 – Peter! Oh my God you're awake! What happened?! Wait is Bruce, Bruce Banner as in the Hulk?!

To Ned: Yes Ned, it's the Hulk. Bruce is actually a really good doctor and he's been taking care of me.

Text Message, Ned, 14:01 – That is so cool. Are you ok? What happened to you?

To Ned: I was shot. The bullet went through both my lungs and my heart. I almost died dude.

Text Message, Ned, 14:02 – What?! How did you not bleed to death?!

To Ned: I don't know. Bruce and Dr Cho had me in surgery for ages and they had to break 8 of my ribs in order to fix me up. They've given me 3 and a half pints of blood.

Text Message, Ned, 14:05 – Oh my God dude. Do you know who shot you?

To Ned: I don't know. I was shot in the back. I'm still in bed but Mr Stark says that he's going to try and get me to walk around tomorrow.

Text Message, MJ, 14:10 – Ned's had his phone confiscated. He looks more worried than he did before and he's gone super pale.

Text Message, MJ, 14:12 – He's just been sent to the nurse.

To MJ: Look after Ned for me. I'm safe but still in a bad way. We'll talk soon.

Text Message, MJ, 14:15 – Ok. Talk soon.

"Who are you texting?" May asked.  
"Ned and MJ," Peter replied as he put his phone down.  
"They've been worried about you."  
"Yeah."  
"Ned left you a voicemail and said something about you being superhuman. I know that he's your best friend but he definatly reads too many comic books."  
"Yeah," Peter said with a smile.  
"Are you ok? Do you need anything?"  
"No. I'm good with just having you here," Peter said and May gently snuggled into him before they both fell asleep.

"What's that Bruce?" Steve asked Bruce as he nodded at the application that was open Bruce's tablet.  
"It's an app that is twinned with the machinery in the medbay. It's showing me Peter's vitals so that we can monitor him remotely."  
"Impressive."  
"And how are the kid's vitals?" Tony asked Bruce as he paused his draughts game between him and Rhodes and Thor.  
"They're fine Tony."  
"Great."  
"And how is Peter doing?" Hawkeye asked Tony. Tony played his go before he looked up.  
"He's doing very well. He's not bouncing off the walls yet but he's perky. He had a panic attack when he told me who shot him though."  
"He knows the man who shot him?" Natasha asked.  
"Yeah. It was his date's dad who he went to prom with."  
"Ouch. That's worse than Jane dumping me."  
"It's quite a bit worse than that actually but ok," Tony answered. "The Vulture, which is this guy's villain identity, knows that Peter is Spiderman."  
"Oh shit."  
"Is he dangerous? Is he going to go after Peter and try to finish the job when he finds out that he's alive?"  
"I don't know. I'm still figuring that one out," Tony told them.  
"Is he safe? How can we be sure that the Vulture won't come here?"  
"We can't be sure so I need you all to stay alert for anything or anyone unusual around this building."  
"Ok, will do Tony," Rhodes said before he moved. "And I win."  
"What?!"  
"And I'm off shift," Bruce said as he turned the tablet off. All the Avengers phones buzzed and Steve looked at his first.  
"Our little Spiderman has been cuddling up to his Aunt," Steve said as everyone looked at the photo that Dr Cho had taken of Peter asleep on his bed with May.  
"Oh my Gosh, that's so cute!"  
"He's not so hard anymore."  
"They sure do love each other."  
"Even I have to admit that's pretty adorable."


	7. Day 7: Thursday

"Hmn? What's happening? Where are we going?" Peter asked as he woke up. Someone was carrying him down a cold corridor and he had just a sheet over him.  
"You're ok Peter. We're just taking you for a shower," Natasha told him softly.  
"Morning Peter," May said as she came over and kissed Peter on the cheek. Peter blinked and looked around. He was in a bathroom and the shower was running.  
"Are you ok with having a shower Peter? I'm going to hold onto you while Natasha washes your hair and gets you all soaped up," May said and Peter nodded.  
"Yeah."  
"Great."  
"If you need us to do anything, anything at all Peter, you just have to tell us ok?" Natasha said as she carried Peter into the shower.  
"Ok," Peter replied as the water began to cascade over both him and Natasha.  
"Stand up nice and gently for me Peter," Natasha said as she put Peter's legs down and the sheet fell off his body. Peter barely registered that he was naked and Natasha purposefully didn't register that fact.  
"Hold onto me," May said as she took Peter into her arms.  
"I'm struggling to stand," Peter said softly and May made sure to hold him more firmly in her grip.  
"How's that?" May whispered.  
"Better," Peter said as he rested his head onto May's shoulders.  
"Close your eyes Peter," Natasha said as she began to put shampoo into Peter's hair. Peter closed his eyes and relaxed as Natasha messaged her hands through his scalp and May gently rubbed his back. Peter must have taken a micro-nap because the next thing he knew was May shaking him awake.  
"No sleeping yet Peter, I've got to get you dressed," May said gently.  
"Time to wake up kid," Natasha said as she turned the water off.  
"Thank you," Peter mumbled.  
"It's no trouble Peter. It's good to finally get you clean," Natasha replied.

"That kid of yours is certainly cute when he's sleepy," Natasha said as sge came into the kitchen for breakfast. She was rubbing her hair dry with a towel.  
"Where have you been?" Hawkeye asked.  
"Giving Peter a shower. His Aunt's with him now and, she's helping him get dressed into some new clothes."  
"About time."  
"Were you in the shower with him?"  
"Yeah."  
"And was he naked? Were you naked? Or was it more of a swimming costume type scenario?" Thor asked and Tony stared at him. "What? I'm curious, I've never had to give someone else a bath before."  
"Yes Thor, he was naked but I wasn't and neither was his Aunt May. I don't think that Peter needs any more trauma adding onto his list," Natasha said and they laughed.  
"Has May finished getting him dressed?" Tony asked.  
"I don't know. Dr Cho was getting Peter breakfast about 10 minutes ago, so he might be."

"Morning Peter," Tony said as he came into the room.  
"Hi Mr Stark," Peter said as May fiddled with his new sky blue pyjama top.  
"Wow, I like the pyjama's kid."  
"Thanks, they were May's choice."  
"People say that I have a good taste in fashion," May added.  
"I can tell. Where's Dr Cho?"  
"She gave Peter and I some privacy while I got Peter dressed."  
"Of course. It's your first time in new clothes right kid?"  
"Yeah."  
"Do you want to give walking a go?"  
"I can try."  
"That's the spirit. Hopefully you're Aunt has done the elastic belt up tightly so your pyjama bottoms won't fall down when you stand up."  
"You have such little faith in me," May said as Tony came over and brought the bed covers down.  
"Can you move your legs off the side of the bed Pete?"  
"I can with some help."  
"I've got you Peter," May said as she helped Peter to move his legs and Tony supported Peter's back as he sat up fully.  
"Are you ok?" Tony asked Peter and he nodded.  
"Yeah. I haven't be sitting up like this for very long."  
"No time like the present hey kid. Just take some nice, calm breaths," Tony instructed Peter and he did so. "Now give me your hands," Tony said and he took Peter's hand into his own. "Ok Pete, you're going to try and stand up ok?"  
"Ok," Peter agreed and he shuffled forwards to where his feet fully touched the floor.  
"That's it honey," May said, who was now standing beside Tony.  
"Ok kid, put your weight onto me," Tony said as he helped to pull Peter up. Once Peter was standing upright, Tony wrapped an arm around Peter's waist and stood alongside him. "That's it Peter, you're doing really well. Let's take a step ok?"  
"Ok," Peter confirmed and both May and Tony watched with bated breath as Peter thought carefully about walking. Tony made sure not to apply too much pressure to Peter's chest.  
"You're doing great Peter," Tony said as he held most of Peter's weight. Peter moved his foot forwards and began to transfer his weight onto it.  
"That's amazing Peter."  
"I'm going to fall Mr Stark."  
"No you're not kid, I've got you."  
"We've both got you," May said as she supported Peter' back and Peter smiled. He stood onto his foot and began to move his other one.  
"How are you feeling? Are you ok?" Tony asked and Peter nodded. After three more steps Peter stumbled and fell against Tony. "Hey kid, we ok?" Tony asked as he held tightly onto Peter.  
"Do you want to get back onto the bed?" May asked him.  
"I feel sick."  
"Alright kid. Let's go back to the bed, nice and slow alright," Tony said as both he and May helped Peter to sit back down. Tony looked at Peter's vitals. "You're blood pressure dive bombing kid," Tony said as May rubbed Peter's back and Peter was in a haze of thought. "Your heart isn't use to beating blood around your system while you're upright."  
"Huh," Peter mumbled with his eyes closed. "Where am I?"  
"You're at the Avengers Tower," May told him.  
"Why am I not at home?"  
"You've been seriously injured and they've got the right medical equipment to look after you here."  
"Can I try again?" Peter asked.  
"Yeah," May said before she looked at Tony for confirmation.  
"Of course you can Peter," Tony said and Peter held out his hands. May stood back and Tony took Peter's hands once more. "When you're ready Peter," Tony said and Peter began standing up. He only got half way up before his blood pressure fell and he collapsed. Luckily, Tony caught him before he hit the ground. "Ok this is not good for your heart Pete so I'm putting a hold onto this for now," Tony said as he held the half-asleep Peter in his grip. "Can I have a hand please May?"  
"Yeah," May said and together they got Peter back onto the bed.  
"There we go kid," Tony said as they rested Peter back. He was moving but he wasn't responding to Tony and May.  
"We'll try again later," May said as she played with Peter's hair and Tony nodded.  
"Yeah. I'll let Bruce know what happened. I'm going to leave you with the, adorable, out of it Peter," Tony said and left as Peter began murmuring next to his Aunt as she ran her a hand through his hair. Peter's phone buzzed and May picked it up.  
"Hello?"  
"Hi, it's that May?"  
"Yeah it is. This is Ned right?"  
"Yeah it is. How's Peter? Is he ok? Where are you? Can I come and see him?"  
"Ok Ned, slow down. Peter' s doing fine. I'm sat with him right now."  
"Can I talk to him?" Ned asked hurriedly and excitedly. May looked at Peter, who was talking incoherently and moving his arms gently in an effort to express something.  
"He's not really with it right now Ned, can I answer any of your questions?"  
"Why'ss he not with it? Is it serious? Is he unconscious?"  
"No, his blood pressure fell and he's talking incoherently about something. He's just confused."  
"Oh, ok. I'm just really worried about him. He told me that had been shot."  
"He was but he's getting better day by day."  
"Right."  
"Ish that Ned?" Peter whispered and May turned to him, putting the phone against her chest.  
"Yeah it is. Are you ok honey?"  
"Yeeh, the world just went fuzzy for a byt."  
"You were talking about something Peter and Tony Stark thought that you were cute," May said and Peter frowned.  
"I am not cute."  
"Of course not," May said as Ned's voice could be heard through the phone.  
"Is that Peter? Can I talk to him? Please?" Ned shouted through the phone and May passed it to Peter.  
"I think he wants to talk to you."  
"Hey Ned," Peter said as he managed to hold the phone in his grip.  
"Oh my God, Peter hi. How are you? Are you ok? Can you walk?"  
"I tried to walk but I got confused and fell. May is with me now," Peter told Ned as May gently stroked his hair.  
"Wow, you're not well Peter," Ned said, realising how tired and unlike Peter his best mate sounded.  
"Tony said I was cute."  
"Tony? As in Tony Stark? As in Iron Man?"  
"Yeah. He's been like, super sweet to me, and May's here," Peter said before he giggled slightly.  
"You sound drunk or something. What drugs have they been giving you?"  
"Pain meds and stuff man. My lungs have healed but my heart's still bad. Is that why I collapsed May?"  
"Yes it is honey," May said and Peter looked at the monitors.  
"Aww dude, I feel so bad for you."  
"What are you feeling bad about?" MJ asked from behind Ned and he jumped.  
"Ah!"  
"Who are you calling?"  
"Peter."  
"Peter's on the phone now?"  
"Yeah," Ned said and MJ took hold of the phone.  
"Ned, are you ok?" Peter asked into the phone.  
"Yeah he's fine. Is this you Peter?"  
"Oh, hi MJ."  
"You're in a bad way right? What happened to you?"  
"I was sshot," Peter told MJ. "I'm in a bed and I'm still pretty bad."  
"Are you in the hospital?" MJ asked but the phone line went silent. "Peter?"  
"Peter's still confused and it's been a long day," May said over the phone. "He appreciates the messages you've sent him though."  
"I mean, we're both worried about him."  
"I'm worried about him too but he's getting better slowly. I'll see if he can call you tomorrow when he's feeling better."  
"Ok," MJ said and May hung up the phone.  
"Can I sleep May?" Peter asked.  
"Of course you can Peter," May whispered.  
"Is he ok?" MJ asked Ned.  
"He's drugged up on pain meds and he sounds so unlike himself."  
"Who the hell would shoot Peter?"  
"I don't know."  
"Well, his aunt says that he's getting better."  
"Yeah, that's something."  
"Are you ok? I mean you practically fainted in class yesterday."  
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just worried about Peter."  
"Aren't we all?" MJ said, adding a smile. "He'll be ok Ned."

"Happy you're back!" Tony said as Happy walked through the door.  
"Sorry that I couldn't come back earlier Tony. I heard what happened, is Peter ok?" Happy asked but he trailed off as Steve entered the room with Peter in his arms.  
"Hi Happy," Peter said as he waved a hand that had a cannula in it and was connected up to a saline drip.  
"Hey kid, how are you doing? I heard what happened."  
"I'm good."  
"We're having a film night," Steve told Happy. "The kid wants to watch Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. It's an old London gangster film or something. It's meant to be quite funny."  
"Yeah, MJ recommended it."  
"MJ's your friend at school right?"  
"Yeah," Peter said as Steve put him down on a sofa.  
"Careful Steve," Hawkeye said.  
"What's with the carrying?"  
"We tried to get Peter to walk earlier but his blood pressure dive bombed and he collapsed. So for now, Steve is our spider handler and Peter is resting to allow is heart to heal."  
"Are you going to join us Happy?" Peter asked as Steve swung his legs round and onto the floor.  
"Sure," Happy said. There was no way that Peter wouldn't let him watch the film without him. "I like the pyjama's."  
"Thanks. They were May's choice."  
"Hi Happy!" May said cheerfully as she came over to him with a bowl of snacks.  
"Hi May."  
"You guys are on first name terms?" Peter asked as he frowned.  
"He's still as quick as a whip," Rhodes said.  
"Yeah, and your walking will come back."  
"Thanks man."  
"You're doing really well already Peter," Steve said as he closed the DVD player and it loaded up. "You had us all very worried for a while."  
"Awww thanks man."  
"It's true. Tony wasn't sleeping while you were unconscious and May collapsed on a number of occasions out of worry for you."  
"Pepper has had to stay on in New York for a few more days but she's been calling Tony daily to see how you are doing kid."  
"Thanks guys. I don't know what to say."  
"We're all just very happy that you're awake and recovering," Natasha said as she rested her hand onto Peter's shoulder before she went to get a drink.  
"Yeah, this team really loves you kid."  
"You might want to relax on the gym a little though. You're certainly a weight to carry," Steve said and Peter smiled.  
"Sorry."  
"Don't be sorry, Steve needs something to keep him in shape."  
"Where's Bruce and Dr Cho?" Peter asked.  
"They're sleeping Peter. This is their night off as well as ours."  
"Oh."  
"Anyway the film is up."  
"Yes, lets start this play," Thor said and Steve began the film.

Natasha elbowed Steve and she pointed at Peter. The film had just finished and Peter was quietly snoring on the sofa.  
"I think someone needs to be tucked up in bed," Natasha said with a smile.  
"Yep, it's defiantly past Peter's bedtime," Steve added as he stood up and gathered Peter into his arms. Happy and Tony watched him leave with Peter.  
"That kid's going to be the death of me," Tony said.  
"He's not short of adorable though," Happy added.  
"You're right there."


	8. Day 8: Friday

"Ok Peter, no collapsing on me this time," Tony said as he stood in-front of Peter with Peter's hands in his.  
"Ok," Peter said as he stood up.  
"That's it kiddo," Tony said as he stood at Peter's side.  
"Are you ok Peter?" Happy asked on Peter's other side.  
"Yeah, I'm ok."  
"Happy, I want you to watch his vitals carefully for me ok?"  
"Yep, I am doing Tony."  
"I don't think that I can Mr Stark," Peter said as he shook his head. Memories were coming to him from the day before and he didn't want to fail again.  
"Of course you can, you're vitals are fine now ok Peter?" Tony said and he looked at Happy for confirmation. Happy gave him a thumbs up. "All you need to do is put one foot in front of the other. It's as easy as that."  
"Ok. I'll give it a go."  
"Great. Nice and slow now," Tony said and Peter nodded. He reached out a hand for Tony and Tony took it into his own. Peter shuffled a foot forwards and began putting his weight onto it. "That's great Peter. It wasn't that hard was it?"  
"No it wasn't," Peter said. He moved slowly and half an hour later they made it to the window.  
"Hold onto this kid," Tony said as he moved Peter's hands to the railing.  
"I've got it."  
"Sure?"  
"Yeah," Peter replied and Tony held onto the railing with one hand whilst he kept a hand around Peter's waist.  
"Vitals are looking good Tony," Happy said as he came over.  
"Am I an Avenger yet Mr Stark?"  
"Not quite kid. Getting shot doesn't count as your entry test."  
"Looking good kid," Happy said. "It's an improve from yesterday I take it?"  
"Definitely. His body didn't like walking at all yesterday and now look at it."  
"Yeah it's great."  
"And how's the chest? Can you breathe ok?"  
"Yeah, but Bruce is slowly taking me off the oxygen."  
"You can't reply on it forever Peter," Happy said and Peter nodded.  
"I know but it's nice," Peter replied before he bowed his head and looked down at the floor.  
"Are you ok Peter?" Happy asked.  
"Can I get back into bed please," Peter whispered.  
"Yeah sure kid. Are you ok to walk back to the bed?"  
"Yeah, just with two people."  
"Yeah, ok, sure," Happy said as he and Tony helped Peter back to the bed.

"Peter? Is that you?" Ned asked as he picked up the phone.  
"Yeah, hey man."  
"Are ok? I mean yesterday you were kinda out of it."  
"Yeah my blood pressure took a dive when I tried to walk and Tony had to catch me."  
"Tony Stark sounds so sweet man!"  
"You have no idea," Peter told Ned with a laugh. "He's like a dad to me which means he shouts at me sometimes."  
"I bet that's super scary."  
"It is."  
"How are you doing? Have you tried walking again?"  
"Yeah I've just walked across the room with Tony and Happy."  
"That's amazing dude."  
"Yeah I know. I watched a film with the team too last night."  
"Wait, the team? Like the Avengers team?"  
"Yeah, they're all looking out for me. It's honestly amazing man."  
"And what about May? Has she been looking after you?"  
"Yeah she has. She had to go back to work today, seeing that I'm not dying any more. She's been so worried about me."  
"So have I. I almost fainted in class dude."  
"Aw Ned, I'm so sorry."  
"So, do you know who shot you?" Ned asked and Peter paused. "Peter?"  
"I don't want to talk about it Ned."  
"Do you know who did it? You have to tell me man, or Tony Stark or someone so they can beat this guy up for you."  
"Tony already knows Ned and the last time I talked about it I had a full on panic attack."  
"Was it that bad Peter?"  
"Yes!" Peter cried out. "He shot me and I almost died. I had a ventilation tube down my throat helping me to breathe, and it took me like 5 days to wake up. Tony and May were worried sick and I was being cared for around the clock. Black Widow had to help give me a shower yesterday and all the Avengers have been worried sick for me. So yes it was bad!" Peter finished and he paused as he realised that he had just ranted at his best friend. "I'm sorry Ned. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have shouted, I."  
"It's ok Peter," Ned replied, his voice quieter now. "It's been hard for you, I get that. Can I come and see you?"  
"Yeah, that would be nice. I'll talk to Mr Stark and see if you can come round tomorrow."  
"Oh my God, I could come to the Avengers Tower!" Ned squealed in excitement.  
"Yeah," Peter replied with a laugh. "I'll see you soon Ned ok?"  
"Yeah. See you soon man."  
"Bye."  
"Bye."

"Watch out everyone, high speed Peter coming through," Tony said and Peter smiled as he walked in Tony's grip into the kitchen.  
"Woho, Peter ahoy," Rhodes said as he moved out of the way for Peter.  
"Couldn't resist food could you Spiderkid?" Thor asked.  
"No I couldn't Thor," Peter replied before focusing back on his feet.  
"Nice and slow kid, that's it."  
"Have you walked all the way from the medbay?"  
"Yeah. But I had to sit down in the corridor."  
"Most people need to sit down when leaving the medbay. Take a seat Peter," Natasha said as she pulled out a chair and both she and Tony helped Peter onto it. Peter sighed as he relaxed back.  
"Here you are, some water and a ham sandwich," Rhodes said, handing some food to Peter.  
"Thanks," Peter replied as he reached for the water. His hand was shaking and Natasha supported him.  
"I've got it Peter," Natasha reassured him as she helped to hold the water as Peter drank it.  
"I said that Peter can have some friends round tomorrow."  
"Oh."  
"Friends or girlfriends?"  
"Friends," Peter replied with a laugh as he let go of the water and closed his eyes.  
"Feeling a bit dizzy there bud?" Tony asked Peter as he rubbed a hand round his back.  
"Yeah," Peter replied. "And everything's a bit blurry Tony," Peter said as Natasha put the water down.  
"Some low blood pressure is to be expected Peter," Natasha told him.  
"Can I have some more water please Nat?"  
"Sure," Natasha said bringing the cup back to Peter. She held the back of his neck as she helped him drink it.  
"Are you ok Peter?"  
"I'm feeling a bit dizzy."  
"Have something to eat Peter, it'll help you feel better," Bruce said as he walked into the room.  
"Where have you been Bruce?"  
"Reviewing Peter's latest scans."  
"Can I see?" Tony said as he came over and Bruce showed him the scans. "His heart's healing then?"  
"Yeah, the inner tissue is growing back and our patch is holding it together well."  
"That's fantastic Bruce," Natasha said as she moved her attention to him. "How long until he's back to normal?"  
"6 days or so, this is very promising."  
"Err, guys? Guys!" Rhodes shouted and they turned to him as Peter landed with a loud thud on the floor and Rhodes failed to catch him.  
"Peter!" They cried out, running to Peter, who was unconscious on the floor.  
"Peter? Wake up kid. Rhodes why didn't you say anything?!" Tony shouted as he knelt beside Peter.  
"I tried Tony but we all took our eyes off him," Rhodes said as Bruce took Peter's pulse.  
"Peter, can you hear me?" Natasha asked softly.  
"Come on kid, wake up," Tony whispered. He was scared, Peter had been doing so well and this was a scary remainder as to why he was still in the medbay and being carefully monitored.  
"Talk to us Bruce," Natasha said.  
"He's breathing but his pulse is weak."  
"He's been complaining of being dizzy all day," Tony added.  
"It might be dehydration then. We need to get him back to the medbay."  
"Let me," Rhodes said and they all stood back as Rhodes took Peter into his arms and carried him into the medbay. Everyone followed behind him and Bruce immediately began putting saline through Peter intravenously.  
"How long until he wakes up?" Tony asked.  
"I don't know Tony."  
"How do you not know? It can't be that bad, we walked into the kitchen together. He's not going to be out for another 5 days is he? I mean…" Tony rambled and Bruce, Natasha and Rhodes shared a look with one another before Natasha stepped forwards.  
"Come on Tony. You're not helping Peter right now."  
"No, get off, I need to protect my kid."  
"I would like you to leave Tony," Bruce said firmly and Tony looked at him. "It's not serious. We just have to wait for the fluids to go through."  
"Lets have dinner Tony," Natasha said and he turned to her. He knew that she was right.  
"Ok. If Peter doesn't wake up you're off the team Banner," Tony threatened him before he looked at Peter's unconscious face. The door closed and Rhodes turned to Bruce.  
"I'm sure he didn't mean it."  
"He's just worried about Peter. He's threatened to kick me out of the Avengers lots of times before."  
"Is he going to be ok?"  
"Yeah, he'll be fine. They'll both be fine," Bruce said as he looked up at Rhodes.  
"Ok," Rhodes agreed before Bruce continued his tests on Peter.


	9. Day 9: Saturday

Bruce flicked the light on in Steve's room.  
"Hmn? What's going on? Bruce?" Steve asked as he woke up.  
"Morning Steve. It's 9am already, are you ok?"  
"Yeah, I'm good. I had a few drinks with Tony yesterday to calm him down."  
"Oh, fair enough."  
"What's going on?"  
"It's Peter I need you to…" Bruce began and Steve sat up.  
"What's happened, is he ok?"  
"Yeah, he's fine. He's just feeling a bit low so I said that he could spend the day with you. Everyone's still a bit shaken up from what happened yesterday."  
"Yeah, that would be fine. What are kids into these days?"  
"I don't know. Films or video games. I think Rhodes has a PlayStation around here somewhere."  
"What's a PlayStation?" Steve asked in confusion.  
"You know what, don't worry about it. Walk Peter to the lounge so he gets some exercise and watch some films or play some cards. Medically, he's almost ready to go home so I think that he's just bored."  
"Ok. Thanks Bruce, I'll think of something."  
"Thanks Steve," Bruce said before he left.

"Hey kid," Steve said as he came into the medbay.  
"Hi Cap. What are you doing here?" Peter asked in surprise.  
"Bruce says that you're a bit bored so I'm here to spend the day with you."  
"Great. What are we going to do?"  
"I don't know. I know some card games from my youth but any kind of technology after 1940's is beyond me."  
"You managed to work a DVD player."  
"I didn't even know that that was what it was called. Bruce said that I should help to move you into the lounge, that way you get some exercise the view of a different four walls."  
"Ok," Peter agreed and Steve helped him to stand up. Together they made their way through the corridor and towards the lounge. "Sorry about collapsing yesterday. I didn't mean to scare anyone. Bruce said that Mr Stark was shaken up by it."  
"None blames you kid. We all just want you to get better and it freaked everyone out when you collapsed, that's all."  
"I did try and tell Mr Stark that I wasn't feeling very good."  
"There we go," Steve said as he helped Peter to sit down onto the sofa. "Now, I think that I should be able to work the DVD player again. What do you fancy?" Steve said as he browsed the DVD's that were on the shelf.  
"Actually, I wouldn't mind learning how to play some old card games."  
"Now that I can do," Steve said with a smile as he went to get a pack of cards. The distraction worked and Steve and Peter had a great day playing cards together.


	10. Day 10: Sunday

To Ned: Hey man, do you want to come over today?

Text Message, Ned, 9:30 – What happened yesterday Peter? I was meant to come round then. Are you ok?

To Ned: Yeah, I'm good. I had a bit of a bad day, that's all. Bruce and Tony said that it be would be ok for you to come today. You can bring MJ too.

Text Message, Ned, 8:35 – Ok man, this is going to be so awesome!

Half an hour later, Ned and MJ arrived at the Avengers Tower. They came into the medbay as Tony helped Peter to stand up on a pair of crutches.  
"That's great Peter," Tony said as Peter stood up.  
"Hi guys," Peter said as he saw Ned and MJ walking towards him.  
"Focus Peter," Tony said.  
"I've got it Mr Stark, I'm fine."  
"You get to call Iron Man Mr Stark?" MJ asked and Peter looked up at her with a smile.  
"That's it Peter," Tony said as he gently released his grip on Peter and Peter stood up on his own. "What's wrong with you friend Pete, he looks like he's about to faint," Tony said as he pointed at Ned. Ned had gone pale and he was shaking.  
"Oh, he's just super excited to be in the Avengers Tower and that he might actually get to meet the Avengers," MJ explained.  
"I like you. You're sassy."  
"Thank you. Are you ok Peter?"  
"Yeah, I'm getting there."  
"Do you need a hand to get the lounge kid?" Tony asked and Peter shook his head.  
"I think that I'll be ok Mr Stark."  
"Ok," Tony replied and Peter smiled before his gaze fell on Ned.  
"Can you say something Ned? I don't want to have to share this medbay with you tonight."  
"H… Hi, Iron Man," Ned stuttered.  
"Hi," Tony replied. "Come on Peter, lets go into the lounge," Tony said and together they walked to the lounge. MJ walked beside Peter and Ned bounced behind them like an excited puppy. They made it into the lounge where Peter sat on the sofa with MJ and Ned beside him. "I'll leave you youngsters to it ok?"  
"Thanks Mr Stark."  
"No worries kid."  
"Wait!" Ned said as he suddenly became alert.  
"Wow, he speaks!" Tony joked.  
"Don't you need to keep an eye on Peter's vitals or something? I mean, he was shot."  
"He was shot over a week ago Ned, I'm sure that they've got it under control."  
"We're still monitoring his vitals Ned, yes. But we can do so remotely."  
"They're taking very good care of me, besides I've fine for 36 hours."  
"What happened 36 hours ago?"  
"Peter collapsed from dehydration. It scared the hell out of Tony," Bruce called from the kitchen.  
"Don't embarrassed me in front of the kids Bruce," Tony said as Bruce appeared round the corner.  
"Sorry Tony, I couldn't help myself."  
"You're Bruce Banner… You're the Hulk," Ned squeaked in excitement.  
"Yeah, that's right. And you are?"  
"Ned. Ned Leeds. Wow. I am so honoured to meet you."  
"Ah, so you're Peter's nerdy friend."  
"Yes!"  
"You know that most people would take that as an insult right?"  
"I don't care. They're the Avengers!" Ned squealed and it made Bruce and Tony smile.  
"Anyway, we'll leave you lot to it and I'll check on you later Peter ok?"  
"Yeah, thanks Tony," Peter said as they left and Ned watched them go.  
"You done?" MJ asked Ned.  
"No."  
"How did you find walking with the crutches Peter?" MJ asked Peter.  
"Yeah, it was ok. It was better than my other attempts."  
"When are you going to come back to school?"  
"Tomorrow maybe, but Mr Stark is insisting that he comes with me."  
"What?! Tony Stark will be joining you at school? That's sick dude."  
"It's weird."  
"It's going to freak everyone out, especially Flash! He thinks that you've been lying about the whole thing."  
"He's been worried about you too though. I think he wants to beat you up when you get back because he's been missing you so much."  
"Aww, that's sweet, but I don't think that Tony will let him."  
"Why are you at the Avengers Tower anyway and not in a proper hospital?"  
"Mr Stark wanted me to be looked after by his doctors. He doesn't trust hospitals."  
"I got that impression. He better be taking good care of you."  
"He is. What films do we have?"  
"I brought Snatch and the Italian Job."  
"Those are films?"  
"Yeah, they're English ones but I like them."  
"You choose MJ," Peter said and they watched the Italian Job together. The Avengers then came in to join them and Ned got so excited that he completely forgot about Peter. Peter didn't mind as he loved watching Ned get very excited. Ned convinced MJ to take a group photo of him and the Avengers. He managed to freak Thor out which, the Avengers agreed, was a first. Peter snuggled up to MJ as he listened to their conversations. Thor made pizza and they watched Snatch. Just as the credits rolled, MJ looked down at Peter.  
"Peter?" MJ asked gently as she ran her hand through his hair. "Peter?" She asked again, shaking him slightly. Ned turned and saw Peter asleep on MJ.  
"Peter? Peter, are you ok?"  
"He's just fallen asleep," Steve said and Ned and MJ looked across at him. "His bedtime's about 8pm at the moment," Steve said before he got up, gathered Peter into his arms and lifted him up. "He'll have to learn that at some point that I won't carry him to bed every night," Steve joked as he carried Peter back to his bed. MJ helped Steve tuck Peter under the covers in the medbay.  
"Is he going to be in school tomorrow?"  
"I think that's Tony's plan but we'll just have to wait and see. We'll give you two a lift home," Steve said with a smile.


	11. Day 11: Monday

Peter hobbled back into school on his crutches with Tony Stark beside him. Students avoided him in shock and awe. Flash squeezed and froze. First was gym class, the one class that Peter couldn't participate in. Instead, he went over and sat in the stalls next to Liz and Tony sat four rows behind him.  
"Hey Peter," Liz said as Peter sat down.  
"Hey Liz."  
"How are you doing?"  
"I'm good."  
"When were you discharged from hospital? And why is Iron Man with you?"  
"I was discharged on Saturday and Mr Stark wanted to see me about my internship."  
"Really? Right after you came out of hospital?"  
"Yeah."  
"None believes it Peter. You know, that you know Tony Stark."  
"Yeah, but he's right here."  
"I know and that's why everyone is so shocked."  
"Oh right," Peter said before he laughed awkwardly.  
"Didn't you loose that internship?"  
"I did, yeah. But I think Mr Stark feels bad and we had a chat so now…"  
"He follows you round?"  
"Yeah. I mean, no. No. He's here to, look after me."  
"Why? He's Iron Man. You were sedated with a major illness, so why does he have to look after you?" Liz asked and Peter realised that they didn't know that he had been shot.  
"Because, I erm. I didn't have a major illness."  
"What do you mean? What was wrong with you then?"  
"I was. I was shot," Peter said. By your dad, Peter thought as tears formed in his eyes  
"Oh my God. Are you ok?"  
"No. I mean, yes. I mean. I'm getting there," Peter replied nervously.  
"Do you know who shot you? I mean, dad said that you were fine after you got out of the car," Liz said and Peter stared at her. "Peter? What's wrong?" Liz asked after a few moments and she lay her hand on-top of Peter's.  
"I…" Peter gasped.  
"Talk to me Pete," Tony said beside Peter, making him jump slightly.  
"Peter?" Liz asked.  
"I don't know," Peter gasped. "I was shot in the back so I didn't see who fired the bullet."  
"Yeah, of course, sorry," Liz said before she paused and Peter nodded at Tony, showing him that he was ok. "I could talk to my dad and ask him if he saw anyone acting strange."  
"Please don't," Peter replied a bit too quickly and Liz looked at him in hesitation. "Sorry, it's just. He was the last person I was with before all of this happened," Peter added.  
"Of course. I'm sorry."  
"No Liz, it's ok," Peter said and Tony decided to step in.  
"Liz, I knew I recognised the name. You're the girl Peter has a crush on," Tony said as he offered his hand to Liz, happy to meet someone who knew where the Vulture was and he needed to give Peter a minute to calm down.  
"Yeah, I guess. And you're Iron Man."  
"Yes I am. You look like a girl who comes from a classy neighbourhood."  
"Yeah, I live in the suburbs."  
"Nice. I know a lot of good people who live out in the suburbs. West side?"  
"East. Just north of the river."  
"Oh, I love that place. With all the little ducks, I would love to take my wife up there some day and eat some sandwiches with her by the river side."  
"That's sweet," Liz said as he frowned and the bell went for the end of the lesson. "And that's double biology, I'll see you later Peter."  
"Yeah, I'll see you later Liz," Peter replied and he smiled at her as she walked off.  
"I like her, good choice," Tony said before Peter turned to him.  
"What was that?!" He whispered angrily to Tony.  
"You said that Liz's dad is the Vulture. East side. Suburbs. Just north of the river with the ducks on. Oh, Pepper would love that. I just have to stalk Liz after school and boom, we can arrest the Vulture."  
"What? No, you can't follow Liz home."  
"Why not? Her dad shot you Peter, and you almost died. Or do you not remember the last week?"  
"I can't remember most of the last week because I was sedated."  
"That's true. I'm going to arrest this guy Pete and you have double physics I believe."  
"Peter!" Ned called and he caught both Peter and Tony's attention. "You're back!"  
"Yeah. Tony thought that it was about time for me to venture outside of the Avengers Tower," Peter said as Tony gave him his crutches and he stood up.  
"You're looking good dude!"  
"Thanks man. Where's MJ?"  
"She's keeping her head down. People are asking her why Iron Man is with you."  
"I'm not sure that even I know the answer to that. I tried to explain to to Liz but then she asked about who shot me."  
"Who did shoot you Peter?"  
"It doesn't matter," Peter said as they began heading to their next class.  
"How did it feel? Getting shot?"  
"Awful dude. It felt like I was dying."  
"You were dying," Tony interjected.  
"Yeah… I felt like really light headed and weak."  
"As well as dizzy, nauseous, tired…"  
"Ok. That's enough, thank you Mr Stark."  
"Ok. But Iron Man had to help you to walk right?"  
"Yeah, he supported me as I tried to walk across the room."  
"Three times, and only on the third attempt did he succeed."  
"Aw, dude."  
"I'm ok now though Ned."  
"Yeah, but you're still walking with crutches."  
"I know. And I've got Tony with me," Peter replied as they arrived at their next class.

Peter walked with Tony onto the school bus.  
"Ok kid you first."  
"You're coming on the school bus as well? I know my way home Mr Stark."  
"Your Aunt May and I only agreed to let you come to school if one of us was present at all times until you're fully recovered. May's going to pick you up at the other end while I have an errand to run."  
"Mr Stark, you're not going to?"  
"That's settled, after you," Tony said and Peter climbed onto the bus. Tony followed Peter on and he saw Flash staring at him with wide eyes. Half way down the bus, Peter closed his eyes and fell back against Tony.  
"Peter!" Ned shouted as he stood up and the whole bus went quiet. Tony caught Peter as his crutches clattered onto the floor. Ned picked them up and Tony shook Peter.  
"No. Mm tired," Peter mumbled.  
"Is he ok?"  
"He's fine. He's just fallen asleep. Carry on as usual," Tony said before he picked Peter up and carried him sideways through bus until he got to Ned's row. Tony placed Peter gently onto the seat beside Ned and did up the seatbelt. "Make sure he doesn't bang his head," Tony told Ned.  
"Yes sir," Ned replied and Tony sat behind Ned. He put his glasses on as the bus began to move.  
"Status report Friday."  
"Pepper attended the press conference in your place and the plans have been agreed."  
"Well done Pepper," Tony said before he too began to drift off back to sleep.

The bus stopped and Ned poked Tony.  
"Hm?"  
"This is Peter's stop Mr Stark."  
"Oh, thanks Ned," Tony said as he stood up. "Keep hold of the crutches, we'll need them tomorrow," Tony said as he undid Peter's seatbelt and carried Peter, bridal style off the bus.  
"Peter. Is he ok?" May gasped as Tony stepped out of the bus with Peter in his arms.  
"He's just fallen asleep May. Can you carry him?"  
"Yeah, I think so," May said before Tony carefully transferred Peter into her arms. "Oh, he's gained some muscle."  
"Yeah, he's too youthful. It's annoying," Tony said as May smiled and the bus drove off. "Get him home and tuck him into his bed May. I've got some business to attend to, but if something serious happens, call me."  
"Ok."  
"Send me my suit Friday," Tony said and May smiled before she turned and began walking back towards her flat.


	12. Last Few Days

Day 12: Tuesday  
Tony had just told Peter that Toomes had been arrested, his underground operation had been found and the stolen alien tech had been reclaimed. Peter saw Liz at the end of the school corridor and he approached her.  
"Liz. Liz, look. I'm so sorry."  
"You say that a lot. What are you sorry for this time?"  
"Your dad. I mean, I can't imagine what you're going through. If there's anything I can do to help..."  
"I guess we're moving to Oregon. Mom says it's nice there, so that's cool. Anyways, Dad doesn't want us here during the trial, so..."  
"Liz, I... I..."  
"Bye, Peter. Whatever's going on with you, I hope you figure it out," Liz said before she left. Peter turned and watched her leave as Tony came over and put his hand onto his shoulder.  
"There will always be casualties Peter. But you did the right thing."  
"I know. That's why I feel so bad about it."  
"Come here," Tony said after a moment and he embraced Peter.

Day 15: Friday  
By Friday, Peter was fully recovered and Iron Man threw a party to celebrate. He invited all of Peter's friends to the Avengers compound and Thor made everyone cocktails, which didn't go down very well but everyone enjoyed it anyway. Flash spend the whole party just staring at everyone in awe, while Steve and Natasha tried to stick as many rude signs on Flash's back before they were caught. Happy also saw to it that Ned got a shirt signed by all the Avengers. That made Ned faint. Peter and MJ found a quiet spot in the garden where they agreed to be friends before MJ pulled Peter into the pool and Rhodes and Sam joined them.

The End

Be sure to check out my other Spidey stories:  
You're Going To Be Ok MJ  
I'm Proud Of You Kid  
Spiderman Oneshots


End file.
